Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is a church dedicated to the True Cross, by tradition built to house the Relics of the Passion brought to Rome by St Helena the Empress. It is one of the Seven Pilgrimage Churches of Rome, but only has the status of a Minor Basilica. It is also a parish and titular church. The postal address is Piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 12 in the rione Esquilino, just south of the Porta Maggiore and about as far east as you can get within the walls of Rome. It is no longer a monastic church, as the attached abbey of the Cistercians of the Common Observance was suppressed in disgrace by order of Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. More pictures of the church at Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Santa_Croce_in_Gerusalemme There is an English Wikipedia page. [2] History Palatium Sessorianum Despite its present appearance as a Baroque church, structurally the edifice is not just a palaeo-Christian basilica but also one of the select few ancient Roman buildings never to have been in ruins. It was originally part of the Sessorian Palace, probably built by the mad emperor Elagabalus between the years 180 and 211 (although some scholars dispute this; the hypothesis depends on reading Sessorium ''for ''Sesterium ''in Plutarch, the source of the story). A large complex of buildings including the partially surviving Amphitheatrum Castrense to the west of the church, it was mutilated when the Aurelian Wall was built through it in 275. However, the main layout survived to be a major residence of the emperor at Rome at the end of the 3rd century as a militarily more convenient alternative to the Palatine whenever he was in town (which was not often). The meaning of the name is unknown; it only appears in the form ''Sessorium '' at the start of the 6th century. During the reign of the emperor Constantine, the palace was by tradition the Roman residence of his widowed mother St Helena. He declared her to be Augusta Imperatrix with a rôle in government, and hence the complex was an important public institution. She was the ''de facto ''ruler at Rome in the emperor's usual absence, and died and was buried there. (The mausoleum is at Santi Marcellino e Pietro ad Duas Lauros.) She visited Jerusalem to re-establish the Christian holy places in 326, and by tradition there found the relics of Christ's Passion including the True Cross. The latter she left in Jerusalem, where it was venerated for centuries, but splinters from it and other items she brought back to Rome and put on display at the palace. This was the motivation for the foundation of the church. Unfortunately no contemporary author mentions these events, although relics of the True Cross were certainly circulating in the West by the year 348. Basilica Sessoriana There are no contemporary documents describing the foundation of the church. The first reference is from the year 501, and reads ''Hierusalem basilica ''Sessoriani ''palatii, ''demonstrating that the official name of the church back then was simply "Jerusalem". The entry in the Liber Pontificalis describing how the church was founded by Constantine and Helena is from later in the 6th century, when the name ''Basilica Heleniana was also in use. The present name of Santa Croce was given to it in the Middle Ages. The church is, however presumed to have been consecrated very soon after the sacred relics arrived in Rome. A large aula or public assembly hall was appropriated, although most of the rest of the palace is known to have survived as an imperial residence until the early 6th century. If you go round the left hand side of the church, the brick wall you see belongs to this. There are other remnants visible in excavations beneath the church floor, which have led to tentative conclusions about the original form of the church The aula measured 36.5 by 21.8 metres, and had open arcades in the side walls. According to one interpretation, these were blocked up and a large apse added in the conversion. Another opinion puts the blocking in the later Middle Ages, as it seems to be higher in stratification than Constantininan material. The archeological evidence indicates some sort of passage or side aisle on the north side, and the entrance was probably here. Uniquely for a Christian basilica, the main space was divided into three by transverse arcades in a way imitating the Basilica of Maxentius at the Forum. Behind the apse on the right was a room which is now the Chapel of Helena, and this was probably the most sacred area of the complex. By tradition it was Helena's private parlour. The room to the left, the present Chapel of St Gregory, may have been part of the layout although this is not clear. Behind the Chapel of Helena was another room with an apse, and the archaeologist found in this the remains of a basin or font in white marble. Hence this room is considered to have been a baptistery , which indicates that the complex functioned as a church from the beginning (something not to be automatically assumed). By tradition the floor of the complex, or part of it, was packed with soil brought as ballast by ships from the Holy Land. This may have made the floor into a sacramental, whereby pilgrims would hope to receive a blessing by walking barefoot on it. The actual liturgical functioning of the complex in the 4th century is by no means clear, although it is postualted that the relic of the True Cross was kept in the apse and the other relics in the Chapel of St Helena. Pilgrims would have circulated in a fixed pattern to venerate them. Modern liturgical historians have been right to be wary of projecting back into the early 4th century what the Roman church did in later centuries, but there is an interesting theory that the form of the liturgy of the Triduum in the Roman rite originated here. The church was restored by Pope Gregory II (715–731), and by Pope Hadrian I (771–795). In 1049, the church was given to the Benedictines of Monte Cassino, who erected a monastery adjacent. By then, the area had become completely depopulated. However, they moved to San Sebastiano fuori le Mura in 1062, and the Canons Regular of San Frediano of Lucca were installed in the vacant monastery by Pope Alexander II. Romanesque basilica The Canons of the church had it rebuilt in the Romanesque style during the pontificate of Lucius II (1144–1145). This involved gutting the interior, while keeping the exterior walls which survive, and re-building the nave with aisles under one large pitched and tiled roof. A tall campanile was attached to the façade, in front of the right hand aisle. It was now that the church was re-named Santa Croce. ''The floor level was raised, leaving the Chapel of Helena below ground. While the papacy was based in Avignon, in the 14th century, the church was abandoned. The Babylonian Capitivity was the lowest point in Rome's entire history, and the population crashed to about 15000. In 1370, a few years before the papacy returned to Rome, Pope Urban V handed the complex over to the Carthusians. They restored the church, especially during the periods when Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza and Bernardino Lòpez de Carvajal were titulars, respectively in 1484–1493 and 1495–1523. In 1561, the Carthusians were transferred to Santa Maria degli Angeli, and Lombard Cistercians from the congregation of San Bernardo were installed. Depictions of the church during this period survive. The campanile had one more storey than it has now. There was a narthex running the length of the façade, with an open loggia below and a set of rooms above and a sloping tiled roof. The loggia had a set of Ionic columns supporting a trabeation rather than an arcade. The nave frontage had an enormous oculus , and in the gable were the blocked remnants of three smaller oculi, the middle one being larger. The rather haphazard monastery buildings were to the right, and a covered passageway running the length of the church was to the left. The latter enabled pilgrims to get to the Chapel of Helena without going the length of the church; the relics were being kept there. Baroque church Pope Benedict XIV had the entire complex re-done in the Baroque style between 1741 and 1744. The architects were Domenico Gregorini and Pietro Passalacqua; they remodelled the church interior and added a spectacular entrance vestibule. Owing to the late period in which this work was done, it has been called the "Swan-Song of the Baroque at Rome". The monastery was rebuilt around a rectangular cloister, and a separate building was provided to the left of the church for symmetry in the façade. The old amphitheatre was the monastery's garden. The roads that Pope Sixtus V had planned in the early 16th century, linking Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano and this church, were finally completed at this time. However, the access to this church was via the Porta Maggiore only; to get to it from the city, one went down the Via Labicana and past what is now the Manzoni metro station. There was no direct road then between the church and the Lateran, only an ancient footpath which passed hermitages inserted into the old walls (one of these survives, Santa Margherita in Prigione). The present road was provided in the late 19th century. Modern times After 1870, the monastery building was confiscated by the Italian government and turned into an army barracks. However, the Cistercians were able to remain in possession of the church. The area, previously completely rural, was quickly covered in suburban development in the next thirty years and, as a result, the present parish was founded in 1910. The monks managed to recover use of the monastery, but running a parish is not in the Cistercian tradition and this was to cause trouble. After the Baroque re-ordering the holy relics had been taken into a room in the monastery, as it was thought that the Chapel of Helen was too dank for them. This caused serious problems of access for pilgrims, and as a result a completely new chapel was built in the 1930's for them, to the left of the church. The last years of the 20th century were disastrous for the monastery. An Apostolic Visitation was held as a result of serious complaints, and as a result the monastery was forcibly closed in 2011 and the twenty monks dispersed. The church was handed over to the diocesan clergy. The monastic community had converted part of the monastery into a luxury hotel, the ''Domus Sessoriana, ''and were themselves living a profligate lifestyle. They had accumulated serious debts, were attending unsuitable social events and were allowing liturgical abuses including notorious dances by a former lap-dancer [''beware, explicit photo on Wikipedia page] who had taken religious vows. Finally, there were rumours of homosexual activity among the brethren which seem confirmed by a hint in the final visitation report. Exterior The façade is from the 18th century, in the Baroque style. If you walk around the church, it is still possible to see the original Roman masonry in some places. you can also see the ruins of a medieval cloister adjacent to the church. The oval atrium from 1741-1744 has a domed vault and an ambulatory. Its colour scheme was reconstructed recently. The architects were clearly influenced by Borromini. Interior By the entrance, you can see the funerary inscription of Pope Benedict VII (974–983). It's a metric inscription in seventeen verses, inserted into the wall. An interesting piece of information in it is that a house had to be built next to the church to house the Canons, since the church was so full of relics. The eight granite columns are ancient, and are the only parts of the ancient church that are visible. The pilasters are from the 18th century rebuilding. The Cosmatesque pavement is from the 12th century. The ceiling, a wooden false vault, is decorated with the painting St Helena Ascending into Heaven, painted by Corrado Giaquinto in 1744. In the centre of the apse, against the wall, is the tomb of Cardinal Quiñones, who died in 1540. This is an unusual place for a tomb, and it is even more strange that a tabernacle for the Blessed Sacrament is incorporated in the tomb. It was designed by Jacopo Sansovino. The canopy over the high altar is from the 18th century. Below the altar is a basalt urn, containing the relics of Sts Caesarius and Anastasius. The painting in the vault is another work by Corrado Giaquinto, the Apparition of the Cross on the Day of Judgement. The apse has a series of 15th century frescoes of the history of the recovery of the True Cross. They have traditionally been attributed to Pinturicchio, but it is now thought that they are the work of Antoniazzo Romano. Above these is a fresco by Romano, Christ Blessing, dated 1492. Romano had assisted Pinturicchio, Signorelli and da Forli while they worked in Rome. The Chapel of St Helena was decorated with mosaics by Emperor Valentinian III (425-455), his mother Galla Placidia and his sister Honoria. No trace of these remain. It was redecorated by Baldassare Peruzzi in the 16th century with a mosaic of Christ blessing, flanked by the Evangelists. On the sides are four scenes from the Crucifixion. Frescoes of the finding of the True Cross by Pomerancio, painted in 1590, can be seen below the mosaic. The statue of St Helena is a copy of the Vatican Juno. The image of the pagan goddess has been adapted through the addition of symbols of the Passion of Christ. Rubens painted three canvases for the chapel in 1602, but in 1724 it was found that they were damaged by damp. They were sold and are now in Grasse, France. The Chapel of the Pietà, also known as the Gregorian Chapel, was built between 1495 and 1520. It was ordered by Cardinal López de Carvajal, titular of the church, as a mirror image of the Chapel of St Helena which it is joined to. The marble relief on the Altar of St Gregory the Great, depicting the dead Christ on the Blessed Virgin's lap, was added in 1628-1629. The Vision of St Gregory (see below) was painted on the vault in 1630 by Girolamo Nanni and Francesco Nappi. The subject is the liberation of souls from Purgatory through the prayers of the faithful and the intercession of saints. St Gregory the Great, in papal robes, and St Bernard of Clairvaux, with his Abbot's mitre, can be seen kneeling in the middle section. The other saints are St Benedict of Nursia, standing behind St Gregory, and St Robert of Molesme, standing behind St Bernard. Above them are Apostles and St John the Baptist, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the top is the Holy Trinity, to whom their prayers are directed. At the Altar of St Gregory, from 1574, is a famous reliquary, shaped as atriptych with a silver frame. There are some 200 relics in it, and in the centre a 13th or 14th century mosaic of the Imago pietatis, the suffering Christ. Ten enamels were added to the silver frame, and seven of these are preserved. It was probably commissioned by Raimondo del Balzo, who went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1380. The reliquary was donated to the church in 1386. A few years later, it was said that the image of Christ on the reliquary was the same as that seen by Pope St Gregory the Great in a vision. The inscription «Fuit Sancti Gregorii Magni Papae» was probably added to the tympanon of the reliquary at this time, followed by the inscription engraved in 1495 by Israel van Meckenem below the image, stating that the image is a copy of the one St Gregory had painted after his vision. There is no mention of such a vision in the biographies of St Gregory, and it is though that it is a myth that originated in this church. The altar has a special privilege. According to the Decree on Purgatory of 1536, passed by the Council of Trent, the freeing of souls from Purgatory is linked to the Eucharist. If the Eucharist is celebrated at certain altar, including this one and the high altar at San Gregorio Magno al Celio, the soul is granted a plenary indulgence and the personal intercession of St Gregory. The Passion Relics were originally kept in a chapel below the church. You can reach it via the ramp to the left of the sanctuary. Look for the light switch (which glows red) to light up the 15th century mosaic in the vault. The Chapel of the Passion Relics The Passion Relics were transferred to a new chapel in 1930. This made it much easier for the faithful to venerate them. You will find the entrance to the chapel near the end of the left aisle, and inside there is a leaflet in several languages which explains what you will see. You may go round the altar to see the relics more clearly. The relics kept here are: *Two thorns from the crown of thorns. The plant they come from has not been identified. They are consistent with other thorn relics. * A nail from the Crucifixion. The nail is of Roman type. There are many churches where such nails are venerated, since filings were supposedly taken from the true nails and imbedded in copies to make relics of a lower class. Some of these were presented as true nails from the Crucifixion rather than copies, but it is safe to say that the one kept here is among those most likely to be one of the true nails. * The Titulus, part of the Title of the Cross bearing the words "Jesus of Nazareth, King...". It was found on 1 February 1492, built into the wall of the basilica behind a mosaic that was being repaired. The brick which covered it was inscribed 'TITULUS CRUCIS' - it can be seen in the outer relic chapel, together with a reconstruction of the whole Title. The relic was unknown at the time, but there are sources indicating that such a relic was venerated in the courtyard on Calvary in Jerusalem. The pilgim Aetheria (c. 385) mentions this, as does the pilgrim Antonius of Piacenza two centuries later. St Helena is said to have divided the relic into three parts, giving one to Constantine, keeping one in Jerusalem and sending the last to Rome. The relic was allegedly hidden in the wall c. 455, when the clergy needed to protect it from the attacking Visigoths. It is unknown why it was left there, and forgotten, until 1492, but it might simply be because the cleric responsible for hiding it was killed or displaced during the sack of the city. The workmen found a lead coffer sealed by Cardinal Gerardus, later Pope Lucius II. It is said to have been in quite good condition at the time, but Bosio wrote 60 or 70 years later that the red paint on the letters had faded and that worms had eaten away the words 'Jesus' and 'Judaeorum'. The words are cut from the right to the left, leading some scholars to believe they were cut by a Hebrew used to writing in that direction. It does seem unlikely that a medieval forger would do such a thing. * Splinters of the True Cross. * Part of the good thief's cross. Liturgical notes The church was included in the pilgrims' itinerary of Roman churches, and later became a Jubilee basilica. St Philip Neri included it in his list of seven churches that should be visited by pilgrims. It is the station church on the fourth Sunday of Lent, when the relics are exposed for veneration, and on Good Friday when Mass is preceded by a papal procession from the Lateran. Other feasts kept with great solemnity at this church are the Discovery of the Cross on 3 May and the Exaltation of the Cross on 14 September. External links Official diocesan web-page Italian Wikipedia page Parish website "Sacred Destinations" web-page Roma SPQR web-page Info.roma web-page "Tesori di Roma" web-page "Romeartlover" web-page "Domus Sessoriana" website Historical article on mediaeval basilica and monastery (in Italian) English newspaper article on suppression of monastery Croce in Gerusalemme C Croce in Gerusalemme Croce in Gerusalemme Category:18th century